our end point this morning goes to senator kay bailey hutchison. what are you going to do as you wrap it up as you leave the senate? >> work right until the end do everything we can to get off this fiscal cliff and then i'm going to turn it over to this the next generation. >> even when you decide to leave the senate you can still become a panelist with us. >> that's a deal. >> happy birthday to richard soc soc socari socarides in our last few minutes. carol costello good morning. >> god morning. and happy birthday. winds, floods, now snow. >> finally got that final kind of forecast i got last night, i said i'm waiting for the locust s & p estulance next.

can president obama romance republicans? or are we destined for that fiscal cliff? got a joint? pot is about to be legal in two states but don't light up just yet. newsroom starts now. good morning. thank you so much for being with me. i'm carol cost ello. this hour, superstorm sandy has a cruel, cold kitchen following in its footsteps. this new storm is lashing the northeast with snow, rains and wind and hitting the very same areas struggling to recover from last week's devastation. up to eight inches of snow in some areas and power outages from delaware to maine.

chewing into the coastline, leaving hundreds of thousands without electricity and heat. rob marciano is on new york's staten island, one of the hardest-hit areas from sandy, where residents now face a whole new set of problems. i just can't imagine the misery there, rob. >> reporter: no. the people that live here, just trying to survive here, they couldn't believe it was happening last night as well. snow was coming down, much more than we anticipated, matter of fact. we got probably four or five inches of it. the sun is trying to break through. the snow is done. that's good. at this time during sandy, the water was up and over my shoulders. homes like this off their foundation f their home was still standing, the bottom floor is completely gutted and brought in actually dumpsteres just to get rid of some of the stuff that's so badly damaged. this street is an absolute mess. our satellite truck actually pumping some power into the home of the family that lives here. we caught up yesterday with nick

and diane. they kind of explained to me and our viewers exactly what they're dealing with and what they've gone through. both physically and emotionally this week. >> i went through the most pain that i ever went through in my whole life, from being electrocuted, trying to get back into my house, to watching all my possessions and my family practically almost dying. >> this has been a week from hell. i mean, you know, i'm grateful that i have my family. >> i mean, they are just trying so hard to be positive but it's just very, very difficult. both their vehicles were swept down the block. they're borrowing one from their neighbors. update, they managed to slope and survive the night last night. we talked to them this morning. it was a cold one, carol, even inside the house. temperatures were below 40 degrees. they're hoping this melts and we'll get warmer temperatures in

here. it has been a long almost week and a half since sandy came through. this is not at all what they needed for sure. >> you're not kidding. so brutal. rob marciano, thank you so much. across much of the region there are angry questions about whether poor people are being largely ignored while utility crews focus on wealthier neighborhoods. in brooklyn most of the 6,000 residents of a housing project still without heat, water and electricity. more than one week after superstorm sandy hit. they say power has already been restored, though, to newer, trendier neighborhoods not far from them. and they say right now all they have is each other. >> everybody is sticking together and everybody is trying to do the best that they can. but we need help here in red hook, especially in the towers. you have shut-ins. you have people that can't go to the bathroom, they can't wash themselves and it -- it's just so -- it's emotional for me to be right here.

but it's all i have. >> for residents of this building and many others, hallway lighting is now a set of tea lights lining the corridor. before bed residents dress in several layers of clothing just to stay warm as temperatures inside continue to drop. we are just minutes aaway from the opening bell on wall street. investors will weigh in on the biggest sell off in a year. the dow closed down more than 300 points. many of those same factors, concerns about the fiscal cliff will be in play again today. christine romans is in new york. things looking better this morning? >> they are looking a little better this morning. futures are up. dow futures are up 40 points. that's telling you that at least now investors don't think they need to pile on to the sales that they saw yesterday in the stock market and that also might be because you're starting to hear signs from democrats and republicans that, as harry reid says, we don't want to fight.

we want to dance. it's more fun to dance than fight. we'll see if we can get some progress on the fiscal cliff. dow jones industrial average, biggest sell off in more than a year, more than 300 points down. when you look within the sectors, there are certain sectors in the market that were moving probably in reaction to the presidential election. what do i mean? banks were down sharply. the president has promised tighter regulation of banks. they've been fighting against it and hoping for republican presidency. insurers were down. insurance stocks are thinking well now obamacare is set in stone. it is real and it's going to happen. coal stocks were down. for-profit education stocks were down and so were dividend-paying stocks. for some wealthier investors the president really wants to raise taxes on investment income, so that could hit those stocks there. also hospital stocks moved higher. again it's that notion that now that the supreme court has spoken and, in fact, you have two terms of an obama presidency, obamacare is set in stone.

hospital stocks moved higher. it wasn't just a re-election sell off by any stretch of the imagination. it was europe's financial crisis. we heard pessimistic words out of europe. that was a big part of it. actually started the selling. ffiscal cliff, the debt ceiling which gave birth to the dreaded fiscal cliff, we will be running up against the debt ceiling in a couple of weeks. >> it makes my brain hurt. >> let's just dance and not fight. >> it is much more fun to dance. we'll see if they can dance together as democrats and republicans. christine romans, live from new york for us this morning. the man who plead guilty to trying to kill congresswoman gabrielle giffords will be sentenced and for the first time giffords herself will come face-to-face with her attempted murderer. jared lauoughner opened fire, s were killed, and 12 were

injured, including giffords. he reached a plea deal with prosecutors in exchange for not having the death penalty. her husband, mark kelly, will speak on her behalf as will the woman who grabbed the gun from loughner during the shooting. >> i just have to shake my head. i don't think you can have words that can have strong enough meaning. so i don't have any specific words for him. >> giffords resigned from congress in january to focus on her recovery. her husband said they are both satisfied with the plea deal. the california filmmaker behind an anti-muslim film that sparked riots across the middle east is returning to prison. mark youssef will spend one year behind bars for violating his probation from a bank fraud case, using several fake names, including one with while

shooting "the innocence of muslims," depicting the prophet mohammed as a killer and child molester. one young mother in kenya has named her newborn twins barack obama and mitt romney. >> translator: i gave birth to twins and decided to name them after barack obama and mitt romney. i named the first one barack and the second one mitt just like obama and romney in the u.s. election. >> we can only hope congress can show such bipartisan love. they will soon get their chance. dan lothian at the white house. dan, i understand -- >> reporter: how can i follow that? >> i know. i just kind of feel sorry for the newborn named mitt because, of course, he lost the election. maybe that won't resonate in kenya. >> reporter: exactly. >> an honorable man. i'm not saying anything bad about mitt romney the person.

what can you tell us? >> reporter: not just republicans but democrats as well, the president reaching out to speaker boehner by phone and mitch mcconnell in the senate and to democratic leadership. the president telling them that he is committed to finding a bipartisan solution to some of the tough problems, such as cutting taxes for middle class americans, creating jobs. what's unclear at this point is what else will the president do beyond making phone calls? will he be invoighting the leadership here to the wit house? will they be having retreats elsewhere? what is cloer is already up on capitol hill the loweredship is talking about getting things done. >> by working together and creating a fairer, simpler, cleaner tax code we can give our country a stronger, healthier economy. a stronger economy means more revenue, which is what the president seeks. >> this isn't something that i'm going to draw the lines any lines in the sand. he isn't going to draw any lines in the sand, i don't believe. we need to work together.

>> the president said he believes the message that the americans sent in the election is that they want members of congress, both parties, to put aside their differences, find area areas of common ground. of course, that's easier said than done. we'll wait to see if the president can deliver on that, carol. >> should we expect a news conference soon with both the president and maybe -- oh, a republican like john boehner? >> reporter: you know, we've been asking whether or not there will be a press conference happening any time soon. so far, no confirmation of that. lock back over history. former president bush had a press conference about two days after he was re-elected, former president bill clinton had a press conference about three days after he was re-elected. so if history is repeated here, we expect that the president would, indeed, have a press conference some time soon but the white house not confirming that yet. >> all right. dan lothian, reporting live from the white house. in the wake of his re-election, we're learning of another milestone for president obama. he now holds the record for the most popular tweet ever.

he took the title from none other than justin bieber. president obama posted this photo on twitter and facebook tuesday night when his victory was certain. now this image is the most retweeted and liked fophoto in social media history. more than 784,000 retweets on twitter and nearly 4 million likes on facebook. voters in two states say yes to pot. marijuana is about to be legal in colorado. or is it? does that mean you can light up on a park bench and nobody will bother you? we'll have answers for you.

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it is 15 minutes past the hour. syrian president assad sending

out a warning toward any outs e outside -- more than 32,000 people have been killed in syria's conflict. after being elected for a sixth term, arizona sheriff joe arpaio says he wants to meet with members of the latino community. known for his tough stance on undocumented immigrants is being sued by the aclu and the justice department for racial discrimination and civil rights violations. arpaio has denied those allegations. in other news, walmart is kicking off black friday deals even earlier this year, opening at 8:00 pm on thanksgiving instead of 10:00 pm. a walmart executive said the change was made after customers told the world's largest retailer they wanted to shop and go to bed earlier. take a look at these pictures. what happens? what appears to be a smashed car is actually 17 athletes and acrobats painted and twisted to

look like a crash. why, you ask? the video is part of an australian video safety bureau ad campaign, speed something the number one road safety issue contributing to a third of fatal crashes over the past two years. colorado is about to give two meaning to the term rocky mountain high, people voted to change the state's constitution to allow marijuana for recogn e recreational use. 21 years old and an ounce of marijuana or less. you will be able to grow, process, transport even sell marijuana at the fees and taxes raised will go toward public schools. that's not to say there will not be problems. colorado's governor, john hickenlooper says, quote, the voters have spoken. we have to respect their will. this will be a complicated process but we intend to follow through. that said, federal law still says marijuana is an illegal drug so don't break out the cheetos or gold fish too

quickly. oh, but there are those who are so ready for that. lawyer who supports the marijuana industry sent the governor a special delivery of cheetos and gold fish. seriously, though, this is no joke because it's complicated. joining me now is colorado attorney general john suthers. welcome. >> good morning. >> good morning. thank you so much for being here. your on record against this, but say you'll respect what the voters decided. what will be the biggest challenge for you? >> i think clearly it's the conflict between federal and state law. in 2005 in a case called reish versus gonzalez, the united states supreme court made it very clear that the federal government is free to enforce its anti-marijuana laws even in state that is legalize it on a state level. so we really need to find out what the federal government's attitude is going to be towards colorado's legalization attempt. are they going to tolerate these

large grow operations when we have learned from medical marijuana that that results in diversion to other states? we've traced medical marijuana to 26 other states. if that continues i'm not sure that the federal government is going to stand back and say do what you want to do in colorado. >> and i think you're right to be concerned. this is the statement we got from the dea, drug enforcement agency. it says, quote, the drug enforcement administration's enforcement of the controlled substances act remains unchanged. the department of justice is reviewing ballot initiatives and we have no additional comment at this time. they're mulling things over. i have a question, though. if it's against federal law to smoke marijuana, if i'm sitting on a park bench and i light up a joint, and an fbi agent walks by, federal enforcement official, will he arrest me? >> no. you know, even though he technically could, the federal government has never been interested in prosecuting low-level possession.

even when i was u.s. attorney, i think we had 100-plant threshold. i suspect it's even higher now. i do think they are going to be concerned about -- you know, there's no residency requirements under this regime. so people can come into colorado and buy it. take it out of the state. and i'm just not sure how they're going to react to that. the governor, myself are going to be communicating with attorney general holder. the local u.s. attorney and it will be interesting to see what they say. because we in colorado really need to know that. people wanting to invest in these businesses need to know what the federal government's viewpoint is going to be. >> so you're going to have a rough couple months or maybe even a rough couple years? >> i suspect so. >> we wish you luck. and thank you so much for joining this morning. we really appreciate it. colorado's attorney general john suth suthers, thanks so much. >> thank you. >> talk back question for you

today, can president obama romance republicans? facebook.com/carolcnn.

now is your chance to talk back on within of the big stories of the day. can president obama romance the republicans? remember the 2012 election? done! next. now it's time to tackle the fiscal cliff, unless president obama and the republicans make some sort of deal. both sides first need to feel the political love. they're already flirting. >> tonight, you voted for action, not politics as usual. you elected us to focus on your jobs, not ours. in the coming weeks and months, i am looking forward to reaching out and working with leaders of both parties to meet the challenges we can only solve together. >> the american people have spoken. they've re-elected president obama and they've again re-elected a republican majority in the house of representatives. there's a mandate in yesterday's results it's a mandate for us to

find a way to work together on the solutions to the challenges that we all face as a nation. >> oh, but political love is fleeting between democrats and republicans. although partisan bromance is possible. remember ronald and tip back when reeboks and stone washed jeans were hip? why not john and barack? they had a golf beer summit. that is, they played 18 holes and had a beer. can you say quadruple bogey? they're saying come on, fellows, bury the hatchet and show us the love, because it means never having to say you have fallen off a fiscal cliff. can obama romance the republicans? facebook.com/carolcnn. your comments later this hour. markets opening minutes from now. find out if wall street can recover after wednesday's massive sell off. [ woman ] it's 32 minutes to go time,

and the candidate's speech is in pieces all over the district. the writer's desktop and the coordinator's phone are working on a joke with local color. the secure cloud just received a revised intro from the strategist's tablet. and while i make my way into the venue, the candidate will be rehearsing off of his phone. [ candidate ] and thanks to every young face i see out there.

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good morning to you. thank you so much for being with us. i'm carol costello. we're about one minute away from the opening bell of the new york stock exchange. stocks looking slightly higher after yesterday's disturbing sell off. alison kosik is in new york. things looking better? >> it is looking better. a much calmer day on wall street after the dow's biggest sell off of the year. those worries about europe's debt crisis, those are responsible for part of the selling you saw yesterday. the other part was wall street kind of realizing that president obama's re-election means there will be tougher regulation down the road for the financial industry. now today, we got a sliver of better news out of europe with the greek parliament, agreeing to another round of spending cuts. and that means that greece can get another round of international loans. that could keep stocks in the green today. here at home, investors are going through the latest weekly jobless claims report. what it showed was a job of 8,000 for first-time claims for

unemployment benefits. the thing with this reading, carol, take it with a grain of salt. it's kind of misleading. a lot of people were busy dealing with hurricane sandy last week to file new claims. don't be surprised if those claims go up in the coming weeks to make up for that drop we saw last week. overall, though, it seems like the selling is done for now. especially since the sell-off was so big yesterday. 312 points. you'll see some people buying into get those bargains. there we go. opening bell and stocks are starting off ever so slightly in the fwregreen and now the red. so much for that. >> geez. i know you're going to keep an eye on t we'll keep an eye on it, too, throughout the hour. i want to ask you, though, about mcdonald's. it hasn't done this in almost ten years. >> we like to watch mcdonald's. it's a great indicator of how just people are feeling. and we found out that mcdonald's reported an almost 2% drop in sale sales in october. this is actually the first monthly decline in almost a deck

aaid, another sign that the european economy is slowing. but you also saw that sales fell in all regions, including right here in the u.s. it could be a sign as well that competition is catching up to mcdonald's after what's been a dominant nine-year run for the chain. burger king recently added coffee. its answer to mcdonald's success from the mccafe line. this could be a wake-up call to mcdonald's, time to step it up again to grab consumers again. >> healthier burgers. >> exactly. that could do it, maybe. >> maybe. veggie burgers. no, i don't think so. ew. alison kosik, thanks so much. residents still powerless from superstorm sandy being hit again, this time by a nor'easter. mix of heavy rain, wind and snow is a setback for those still trying to dry out after massive flooding left by sandy. nearly two months after that deadly attack in benghazi, slain

ambassador to libya, chris stevens, will be honored po posthumously. his sister, ann, will accept the award. and secretary of state hillary clinton is expected to speak at the event. officials say the rally started small but soon grew to include about 400 demonstrators, some of them shouting profanities and racial slurs. the school's chancellor said he was ashamed that a few students have affected the school's reputation. election 2012 in the bag. time to start fresh. time to treat one another with respect. how about a little reaching out across the aisle? >> is this your concession call or are you still busy watching fox news? >> no, no, this is my concession call. congratulations, blah, blah,

blah, you did it. >> hey now, everything okay? you seem a little down. >> it's just i really wanted to be president. i was going to create 12 million jobs. >> well, look, buck up. you created one job except it was for me. >> all right. very funny. you got me. you know, i can laugh at myself. ha, ha, ha. i'm just going to focus on the good times. remember that first debate? >> yep. you remember right now? burn notice. that one hurt. >> very good. >> seriously, though, mitt romney did call barack obama and the president at least talked about sitting down with governor romney to talk about moving the country forward. now think about that. obama, romney, sitting down together, talking about the economy. probably ain't gonna happen. but still cnn contributors will

cain and roland martin are going to address that. they join me now. welcome, gentlemen. >> that was a funny skit. >> wasn't it funny? >> that was funny. >> i have this great idea, roland. why doesn't president obama appoint mitt romney as his secretary of business? >> right. >> seriously. right. that's really going to happen. first of all, we have a secretary of business. it's called the commerce secretary. normally that's the person who handles that sort of stuff. bottom line is people keep talking about what president barack obama needs to do. the fundamental problem with getting something done in washed is not with president obama. it's whether speaker john boehner can keep his republican caucus under control. tea party members last time, most of them freshmen, scuttled a lot of things that could have been done. that's the real issue. i do believe the president and speaker boehner can have a good relationship, certainly much better than senator mcconnell.

can speaker boehner get his own troops in line? that's the fundamental question. >> there is an argument to be made, will. the president is supposed to lead the country, use his bully pulpit to get things done. why can't he use his bully pulpit to bring the two sides together? >> it depends on his desire for that. you heard roland laugh and me say right because he's not going to do that because he doesn't want to do that. by the way he's going to create a new secretary of business he has talked about, some kind of business department above and beyond secretary of commerce. maybe there's a position there, but he's just not going to fill it with mitt romney. this morning there seems to be a love affair with the idea of compromise. fine. okay, fine. bipartisanship. it can't mean what roland just defined it to mean that people who have legitimate disagreement lay down the disagreement to the side that won the most recent election. that's not democracy.

you don't win election and suddenly everyone else has to agree with you. compromise can't be that john boehner gets everybody in the house to say okay, we have to do it barack obama's way. they have to find the most reasonable thing they can agree upon. i'm not going to filibuster here, roland. the fiscal cliff, taxes. if tess all about taxes on the rich and not tax reform we're going to have problems. >> carol, that's not what i said. the fundamental issue is not how can you not agree. if we recall all of the debates that took place when it came to the house republicans, they didn't want to agree on anything. there was no desire. remember that moment during the republican debates when the question was asked if you could get 10 cuts for even one revenue increase, how many of you will go along with that? nobody raised their hand. that's how the house republicans act. the president and the democrats have offered some concessions. you've got to have somebody across the table who wants to go along with it.

if you're in a marriage, it can't be a one-way street. you've got to have two people. >> during the campaign president obama made it very clear that he wants to raise taxes on the wealthiest americans in this country. i don't think he's going to back off on that. >> no. lo look, see, so my goal here is the republicans lesson is to hold fast to everything you said. that 10-1 was in a republican primary debate. it's not realistic when you only own one house, the house of representatives on the legislative side. however the issue is also that president obama is going to find out very, very quickly the limits of closing a trillion plus dollar deficit by taxing the wealthy. letting the bush tax cuts expire on the wealthy will bring you back $80 billion a year. the idea, by the way, just on the republican side, roland was

just historically false. democrats didn't want anything -- though the president suggested he might touch entitlements. democrats on the left said no way, we're not going to allow you to do that. in about two months we're going to find out if compromise and bipartisanship is legit emptily possible. not just from the right. we'll find that out on the tax side but on the left from entitlement entitlements. taxes, by the way, that's just not going to get you there. >> i hope we find out in less than two months. got to end it here. roland martin, will cain, thanks as usual. brad pitt is adding to his resume. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] some day, your life will flash before your eyes. ♪ make it worth watching. ♪ the new 2013 lexus ls.

an entirely new pursuit.

victims of hurricane sandy getting a boost from a couple of celebrities. lady gaga and jerry seinfeld, donating to the recovery from last week's superstorm. a.j. hammer has that for us.

good morning. >> good morning. lady gaga has just announced on twitter she is making a substantial cash donations, sending off a million bucks to the red cross to help victims of hurricane sandy. she grew up in new york and says she just wouldn't be the woman or the artist she is today without the time she spent on the lower east side, harlem, bronx and brooklyn and says she wants to make the donation on behalf of her family with our deepest gratitude, new york, for raising us. and jerry seinfeld donating all his income from his upcoming shows including performances in brooklyn and staten island as well as a just announced show happening on long island december 19th. helping people here in new york and, carol, as you know, every penny makes a difference. so many people still suffering. >> you got that right. >> let's talk about brad pitt now. i understand he's taking a break from those horrible chanel ads. >> always been one to explore his artistic side. but now apparently he is designing furniture.

his new collection will debut in manhattan next week. it looks like pitt has had a hand in some chairs after, a table and a couple of other items. well known for long being involved in architecture and designing. he has been doodling ideas since the early 1990s. his exposure to frank lloyd wright changed his life. he won't be in attendance for the show. you bring up the chanel ad, maybe they can talk him into doing a commercial for the furniture. in fact, do you have the chanel ad queued up? >> we might. >> can we see a little bit of it? >> just a little. >> it's not a journey. every journey ends, but whoa go on. the world turns and we turn with it. >> tables, chairs. ottomans. i can hear the next commercial.

chanel loves it every time we talk about it and play it. sort of the other end of the spectrum for brad pitt there. >> i'm laughing too hard. amplths j. hammer, thanks so much. we'a.j. will be with us nex hour with more. "modern family" star is being removed from her home because of allegations of abuse. with unitedhealthcare, i got help that fit my life. information on my phone. connection to doctors who get where i'm from. and tools to estimate what my care may cost. so i never missed a beat. we're more than 78,000 people looking out for more than 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare.

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today's talk back question, can president obama re man's the republicans? i love your answer this morning. from brian, no, though it won't be for lack of trying. but an elephant will always act as an elephant no matter how many bee in and out nuts you give it. from gary, why is it that president obama should romance the republicans? don't you think it's time the republicans romance the american people? both republicans and democrats alike need to take a trip to colorado and have a sit down over the peace pipe. from linda, he shouldn't have to romance them. they should be the ones to work with him. keep the comments coming. fa facebook.com/carolcnn. time to check our top stories today. the man accused of attempting to kill former congresswoman gabrielle giffords will be sentenced. jared loughner killed six people, wounded 13 others when he opened fire the a rally last

year. he reached a plea deal with prosecutors to avoid the death penalty. angry reaction in greece to a new round of austerity measures. people protested outside parliament before lawmakers approved the cuts, which include slashing paychecks and pensions are needed so that greece can keep getting bailout funds. new legacy for former south after r african president nelson mandela, picture of the apartheid icon ares featured on bank notes. women and younger adults could be misdiagnosing an important symptom related to heart attacks. a study done found that only half of women who visited their doctor with chest pain discomfort prior to a heart attack were not told symptoms could be related. they seem to attribute the symptoms to stress, anxiety or

indigestion.

during the non-stop election coverage some people on tv were in denial. some were giddy, and some just had to go to the bathroom. here's cnn's jeannie moose with the most bizarre moments of election night. >> reporter: if you missed the moment live, let's relive it. >> president obama has been re-elected. >> president of the united states. >> it was a hard-fought t battle. >> the colbert report is ready to project that cnn has projected that animal planet has predicted that the winner of the 2012 presidential election is barack obama. >> reporter: talk about a thoughtful pundit after painting a bleak picture of president obama's second term, fox commentator dr. charles cr crabhammer joked -- >> as a psychiatrist i will offer to write prescriptions to anybody who needs them right now. >> reporter: but barack obama

supporters were ecstatic. cnn cut away to some in kenya. speaking of which, what would election night be without a donald trump angle? after mitt romney's loss, trump tweeted, this election is a total sham and travesty. we should have a revolution in this country, which prompted nbc's brian williams to launch this zinger. >> donald trump who has driven well past the last exit of relevance. >> reporter: the exit of mitt romney was ohio. after fox news called ohio for obama, the network's own best known commentator objected. >> we got to be careful about calling things. >> that's awkward. >> reporter: once karl rove questioned the call by fox' decision desk, megan kelly walked back there. >> whoa, careful. >> reporter: live camera in tow. >> keep coming. here we go. >> we're actually quite comfortable with the call in ohio. >> reporter: the anchor who got the most flack was diane sawyer. >> could we have our music. >> reporter: viewers thought her

delivery was strange. >> i'll have what diane sawyer is having. >> president barack obama has won minnesota. >> reporter: someone else tweeted, and diane sawyer declares tonight's winner is chardonnay. officially abc wouldn't comment but staffers suggest diane was just exhausted from hurricane coverage and debate prep. and what's an anchor supposed to do when she gets a call of nature while she's in the middle of calling states? >> i came back from the bathroom and said that colorado was still too close to call. nobody told me while i was in the bathroom colorado went for president obama. thanks, you guys. i really appreciate it. >> reporter: one thing networks don't project are bathroom breaks. jeanne moos, cnn. >> good news for mitt romney, he has won -- most of the confederacy. >> reporter: -- new york. >> ouch, ouch, ouch. gatorade used to have a slogan, if i could be like mike, referring to michael jordan.

now jordan's old teammate says president obama's actually fits the bill. we'll the tell you what scottie pippen is saying about the president's basketball playing abilities.re nts the cold truth. i have a cold, and i took nyquil, but i'm still "stubbed" up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't unstuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] it doesn't have a decongestant. no way. [ male announcer ] sorry. alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast acting decongestant to relieve your stuffy nose. [ sighs ] thanks! [ male announcer ] you're welcome. that's the cold truth! [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus. ♪ oh what a relief it is! ♪ [ male announcer ] to learn more about the cold truth and save $1 visit alka-seltzer on facebook.

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memo from pro sports league to their players, marijuana is still a banned substance. tuesday's host in colorado and washington state legalize the recreational use of marijuana prompted a swift response from sports regulations, they all said their drug policies remain the same. from the lakers added dwight howard to their roster they expected to blow out other teams. the season hasn't started out that way. utah jazz beat l.a. last night sending the lakers to a 1-4 record. despite the poor start lakers is giving coach mike brown a vote of confidence and kobe bryant is

telling fans to chill out. scottie pippen tells one way that president obama is just like mike. he took to the court with the president's team for his traditional election day basketball day. pippen said no one wanted to hit jordan back in the day and no one wants to hit the president now. as pippen put it, when the president drives on the basket, the lane opens up wide enough for his motorcade to come through. staying chuck strong for chuck pagano while battling leukemia. two dozen players got their head shaved this week in support of their coach. he showed up in the locker room on sunday. surprising coats with a 5-3 record take on jacksonville tonight. that's a quick look at sports for you. the next hour of "cnn newsroom" starts right now. stories we're watching right now in the newsroom, a new wave of misery in the northeast. first super storm sandy

delivered hurricane force winds and floods. today it's a nor'easter. making a bad situation even worse. smoking pot used to get you busted but not so much anymore. two states legalizing it. that's okay for one group of former law enforcement officers. forget getting up early, we're staying up late to get those black friday sales. walmart says it will start those dealts on thanksgiving. even earlier. don't let p pigtails fool you, this gridiron girl knows how to play. we'll introduce you to the play whole is shaking up pee wee football. good morning. thank you so much for joining me. i'm carol costello. this hour super storm sandy has a cold cousin following in its footstep 'the new storm is lashing the northeast with snow, rains, and wind. and hitting the very same area struggling to recover from last

week's devastation. more than a foot of snow in some areas. evacuations in part of long island and power outages from delaware to maine. nor'easter chewing into the coastline and leaving hundreds of thousands without electricity. and without heat. cnn's deb feyerick is in the brooklyn neighborhood of garrettson beach. dare i say good morning, deb? >> reporter: yeah, morning would be probably the better way to say it. good, i don't know. a t lot of people here are now digging out from all the snow that hit yesterday. it really sort of was a one-two punch. you had the people who were hurting in this area because they lost power. many of their cars were flooded, under water. now we were listening and this is what they need, carol. short list, hats, mittens, scarves, flashlights, big plastic bags. they need gloves. they need heavy duty garbage bags. they also need hats, sock, can openers, basic things. you know, you never think you need it until all of a sudden

you're without it. i want to speak to the assistant chief here, doreen garrison. first of all, how do you describe this part of brooklyn? >> garrison beach is a peninsula, surrounded by water. >> how much water did you get during the storm? >> we got all the water that there was surrounding us that came in to us. >> what's interesting is this is considered a zone b. so nobody had to evacuate here. do people feel like they got caught off guard? >> yes, they do. they actually felt that they should have been evacuated, they should have been emergency evacuation, and they do feel off guard -- caught off guard. definitely. nobody knew what was going to be going on, that it was going to be this magnitude of disaster. >> reporter: you lived in this community post most of your life, 60 years. the people who were inside this relief center, what was their mood last night? >> i think the grief is setting in and people are upset.

they're crying. they don't -- with the snowstorm that came in last night, they don't -- they can't take anymore. that's -- most of the people that came in, that's what they said, they can't take anymore. >> clearly, everybody's nerves are fried right now. what are they going to do? i'm seeing cars being towed away. what are they going to do? >> they really don't know what they're going to be doing. we're trying to go door to door to let people know that con edison, having their electrical panels looked at. >> a lot of work to be done. they don't know what the first step is. all right. carol, you know, you have some of these pockets where people are really just trying to sort it through. and the help they really desperately need not coming fast enough, even though there are a lot of people out there trying to help, carol. >> just looks so miserable. deb feyerick reporting live in brooklyn. across the region there are angry questions about whether poor people are being largely ignored while utility crews focus on waeltdier neighborhoods.

in brooklyn, most of the 6,000 residents of a housing project in red hook still without heat, t water, or elect industry. more than a week after the storm. they say power, though, has already been restored to newer, trendier neighborhoods not far from them. right now they say all they have is each other. >> everybody is sticking together. everybody is trying to do the best that they can. but we need help here in red hook. especially in the towers. you have shut-ins, you have people, they can't go to the bathroom. they can't wash themselves. it's just so -- it's emotional for me to be right here, but this is all i have. >> for residents of this building and many others, the hallway lighting are tea lights lining the corridor. before bed residents dress in several layers of clothing just to stay warm as the temperatures continue to drop inside the building.

for the first time since she was shot during an event she was hosting, former congresswoman gabrielle giffords will come face to face with the man who shot her. today giffords and her husband mark kelly will be in a courtroom where her attacker jared lauwill be sentenced. this week she did manage to vote near her home in tucson. casey is outside that courtroom i was talking about. i know mark kelly will speak during today's hearing. tell us about it. >> that's right, carol. we actually ran into mark kelly, gab write yell gifford's husband last night. he was upbeat, said he was doing well. he will give a statement on her behalf at the sentencing of jared loughner, the man who tried to assassinate her, and killing six people, a total of 19 federal charges he has

pleaded guilty to in exchange for federal prosecutors not seeking the death penalty. he will receive life in prison without parole. we spoke with a source close to the family who tells me that congresswoman giffords is ready to face the man who tried to kill her in court today. she's expecting a very, very difficult emotional morning. she has been preparing for this for some time. she also tells me that gabrielle giffords has no actual memory of the man who shot her that day last january. also appearing in court today will be ron barber, now a u.s. congressman, who was elected in july to fill the remaining term of congresswoman giffords. the time that was left in congresswoman giffords' term. he is actually going to give a statement later today. you think this election is over. he's in a re-election bid and they're still counting the votes in his re-election effort here in arizona.

now, as for loughner, people may wander why they did not seek the death penalty. if you remember, there were a lot of concerns about his ability to stand trial. also, prosecutors very worried about the fact that he could try to plead insanity and have some sort of a lesser sentence. so all of the victims that have spoken so far feeling comfortable with life in prison without parole. carol? >> casey, thank you. syria's embattled president said he will not except international exile even though his country is sinking deeper into a bloody civil war. . >> i think the price of this invasion, if it happens, is going to more than we can afford. we have problem in syria.

stability in the region, and coexistence. it will have domino effect, that effect from the atlantic to the pacific. >> cnn's mohammed joins us now from beirut. mohammed, we've seen a lot of n unintended consequences in the arab world. could assad's warning be more than luster? >> that's the key question, carol. one of the reasons that the civil war in syria is so concerning is because people have worried that it could stoke a regional conflict. you see evil rivalry in syria. the sunni countries in the country like saudi arabia, backing the opposition. then you have a shiite country like iran that's backing assad. now, because the sectarian lines within the syrian war are deepening, that's concerning to the international power players. what's going to happen in the region? will there be a congregation? will there be a wider conflict? that's what ominously assad

seems to be suggesting here. in this interview he also said that he's no puppet of the west. it's very interesting these remarks emerge the day after british prime minister david cameron said he could be offered safe passage out of syria to end this civil war there. >> mohammed jamjoon reporting live in beirut. slain u.s. ambassador to libya chris stevens will be honored posthumously with a common ground award for outstanding accomplishments and conflict resolution, negotiation, community, and peace building. steven's sister ann will accept the award. secretary of state hillary clinton is also expected to speak at that event. guess what, you can get a few more hours of sleep the day after thanksgiving because instead of waking up early for black friday sales you could actually shop on thanksgiving day at walmart. what a beautiful family tradition. you could go right from den

we're the fam to 51-inch flat screen tvsing on sale. alison kosik, it's a beautiful thing. >> isn't eigit a lovely thing? you have your whole day planned out now. forget black friday, who needs it. walmart is opening its doors at 8:00 p.m. on thanksgiving day, offering deals to entice those early shoppers so you could find yourself a 32-inch lcd-tv for 148 bucks and blu-ray disk player. this is the second year in a row that walmart is doing this. this time around it's opening two hours earlier this year. and sears and k mart, they're also announce that they're going to open on thanksgiving, as well. expect more stores to follow. you know, last year toys "r" us opened early, though it waited until november 19th to tell everybody about it. if you go though, it's not going to be empty. you're not going to be alone. the national retail federation says the number of shoppers hitting the stores on thanksgiving day soared in the last three years from a little over 3% in 2009 to more than 24%

last year. and with walmart announcing it's opening earlier, i wouldn't be surprised if you see those numbers go up again. carol? >> after i eat thanksgiving day dinner i cannot move. i mean, i have to lie down for a few hours. >> maybe this is good. you will get up, get a little exercise. you know, and you know why they're doing this? because i all about demand, carol. you know, market research out there actually shows this is what people want. you know, walmart's cheap merchandising and marketing officer says the company is responding to customer feedback. they want to have their turkey, go shopping, and get to bed at a reasonable hour all in the same day apparently. national retail federation agrees. 80% of shoppers say they will start shopping before december this year. get this, 12% began shopping before september. so i think they were in their bathing suits. and the retailers, they have to be ready for this influx, carol. they have to be ready for all this demand. this christmas shopping season

is huge. it's a critical time for these stores no matter how long the season lasts, even if people are going in their flip-flops and shorts to shop for christmas. carol? >> it's good for the economy, that's for sure. >> yes. >> alison kosik, thanks so much. sam gordon is a pint size football play whole puts up astronomical numbers. 9:00-year-old has out run op point nents this season rush for 2,000 yards and, get this, 35 touchdowns. what's even more amazing, sam is a girl, a girl who just dominated her tackle football league. >> it's just everyone asks if i feel nervous. most of the times it's just really fun to be the one scoring the touchdowns. >> well, you're really -- >> better than the boys. >> so cute. carlos dias from hln joins me now. she's amazing. >> here's the thing. we've seen videos. so cute. running around.

like from a football standpoint, she's really good. her lateral movement, her cuts, right through that cut right there. i mean, she brings a tackle and she's going down the field. look at the move right there. she's got three guys draped on her. i don't think so. i'm gone! and then not only can she run, she can also tackle very well. she's tackling guys twice her size. look at that right there. look at her take that guy down. another one, in the backfield. that guy is at least twice as big as she is. 65 tackles. that guy is huge. takes it right outside. she's taking guys down like clay crazy. it's an amazing story. utah, 8 years old when this video was shot. she's dragging that guy. the entire team can't get her right there. she's got her cool neon socks on. look at those socks running down the sideline because you're seeing her from behind. she goes in the end zone. it's unbelievable. you've got almost 1.5 million viewers seeing this thing on youtube. she's a sensation. let's call her flash gordon.

>> i want you to continue announcing play by play. i enjoyed that. >> when you see it you can't help. it's four minutes of just pure bliss because you see her absolutely schooling these guys. i mean, she's just ferocious in this league. i mean, unbelievable. >> obviously she's probably not going to be be able to play football when she's an adult. >> one of my producers said this morning, never play in the nfl. why not? why not? we are -- we see basketball players and wnba. we see female softball players, their skills are unbelievable. why can't we see somebody, a female in the nfl some day? >> because men don't want them there. >> if she can break tackles like that, jerry jones is on the phone right now, all right? she's like, sign that girl up. i want her on the cowboys. she's better than tony romo. >> i think she wants to play soccer though. she's realistic. i wish -- you're right. i can't see it. she would have to grow to be really large to play in the nfl. >> not if she's that quick.

most running backs are 5'8". >> she could do special teams. >> listen dprks you make it, give me a call. you want an agent, we'll do some things. call me. >> thank you so much. that was fun. after an historic vote, supporters of same-sex marriage playing victory in minnesota, maryland, and maine. but they insist there's more work to be done. questions? anyone have occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating? yeah. one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. approved! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'. prego?! but i've bought ragu for years. [ thinking ] wonder what other questionable choices i've made? i choose date number 2! whooo! [ sigh of relief ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego.

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hour. other stories we're watching in the newsroom. residents still powerless from super storm sandy after being hit again, this time by nor'easter. storms, a mix of heavy rain, wind, and snow. a major setback. still drying to dry out by massive flooding left my sandy.

nor'easter has had an impact on the sports world. playoff series between new york red bulls and d.c. united had to be postponed after the snow hit new jersey. they tried to clean off the field to make it safer for players but they failed. the match will held tomorrow, we hope. the california filmmaker, so-called filmmaker behind that anti-muslim film that sparked riots across the middle east is going back to prison. he will spend one year behind bars for violatie ining his probation. he used several fake nameses includes one in "the innocence of muslims." for the first time in history voters have approved same-sex marriage and being hailed as a huge victory for gays and lesbians. so what now? maine and maryland approved the ballot measures, eight states and washington, d.c. now allow same-sex marriage. also on tuesday, minnesota voters voted against the measure to ban same-sex marriage. and washington state could become the ninth state to legalize it.

votes there still too close to call. joining us now is darlene n irk pper, executive director of the gay and lesbian task force. welcome, colleen. >> thank you so much, carol. i'm glad to be here. >> glad you're back with us. what where you expecting from washington state, have you heard? >> i'm expecting a win, but we're going to wait for the ballots to all come? >> you know, the states that have allowed gay marriage, they're all blue states and, you know, many of those states voted overwhelmingly for president obama. what about the red states, still a good part of the country. i mean, look what happened in north carolina. will a red state ever be okay with same-sex marriage? >> look, what we're saying is that this is a watershed moment for our community. it's a watershed moment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered and equality in america. the american people are showing us that they're with us and we're moving forward and we're not going to turn back. yes, we will see that moment. >> what are you saying? are you guys going in to red states and trying to convince people?

how do you convince them? >> you know what, for years and years and years we've been working on the ground, across the country, to have very personal conversations with people about our lives, our love, and who we are. to remind the american people that we share a common humanity and we continue to do that person to person, one-on-one, to really just tell people that, look, lesbian, gay, and bisexual and transgendered people are people just like everyone else and we share a common humanity and we deserve fairness just like everyone else. >> isn't your biggest fight going to be in the u.s. supreme court though? >> yeah, i think, you know, we'll see the u.s. supreme court, but i think the u.s. supreme court has also seen a few days ago with this election, the american people. and i know it's supposed to be unbiased but i think it's pretty clear that the american people are with us and i think the courts and the justices can see that, too. >> was the gay rights community relieved when president obama was re-elected, because he might

have to appoint a u.s. supreme court justice? >> absolutely. i mean, i think what we've seen with the president is that the president has been the greatest advocate for lesbian, gay, and bisexual, and transgendered people. he's been supportive and with us throughout the first term and we expect more for the next four years and we'll be working to make sure that our rights and -- that who we are is supported by the president and the rest of the american public. >> darlene nipper, thank you for joining us this morning. >> thank you, carol. talkback question this morning. can president obama romance the republicans? facebook.com/carolcnn.um is efficiently absorbed in small continuous amounts. citracal slow release continuously releases calcium plus d with efficient absorption in one daily dose. citracal slow release.

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now is your chance to talk back. one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this morning, can obama romance the republicans? remember the 2012 election?

done. next? now it's time to tackle the fiscal cliff. you know, the economic crisis that we're facing unless president obama and republicans make some kind of deal. but first, both sides need to feel the political love. they're already flirting. >> tonight you voted for action, not politics as usual. you elected us to focus on your jobs, not ours. and in the coming weeks and months, i am looking forward to reaching out and working with leaders of both parties, to meet the challenges. we can only solve together. >> the american people have spoken. they've re-elected president obama and they have, again, re-elected a republican majority and the house of representatives. if there's a mandate in yesterday's results it's a mandate for us to find a way to work together on the solutions to the challenges that we all face as a nation. >> but political love is fleeting between democrats and

republicans, although partisan bromance is possible. remember ronald and tip when rewashed jeans were hip? so how about barack and john, they tried. they played 18 holes and had a beer. american voters hate the gridlock. they're saying, come on, fellas, bury the hatchet and show us the love because love -- love means never having to say you've fallen off a fiscal cliff. talkback today. can president obama romance the republicans? facebook.com/carolcnn. your responses later this hour. for years, smoking pot is something people did, you know, indoors in hiding. but now voters in two states played it legal. you will be able to smoke pot sitting on a park bench. and some of the law enforcement community are pretty happy with that decision. begin.

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30 minutes past the hour. good morning to you. i'm carol costello. thank you for joining us. checking our top stories now. nor'easter along the northern east coast has forced residents along the jersey shore to evacuate yet again. snow from that storm has already begun falling. high winds and rain also expected. after being elected for a sixth term arizona sheriff says he now wants to meet with members of the latino community. he is known for his tough stance on undocumented immigrants is being sued by the aclu, the justice department for racial discrimination and civil rights violations. he has denied those allegations. verizon customers effected by sandy won't have to pay for calls and text massages made during the storm. company announced today they will waive the charges for customers in the new york and new jersey areas from october 29th through november 16th.

however, customers will be billed for access charges and data fees. smoke them if you've got them. pot, that is. on tuesday voters in two states approved ballot initiatives that allow people to smoke marijuana for recreational purposes. but there's one catch. it's still against federal law to smoke marijuana. you probably won't be thrown in jail though if you're spotted sitting on a park bench smoking a joint if a federal law enforcement officer walked by. last hour i talked with the colorado attorney general about that. >> even though he technically could, the federal government has never been interested in prosecuting low-level possession. even when i was u.s. attorney i think we had 100 plant threshold and i suspect it's even higher now. i do think they are going to be concerned about, you know, there's no wrens dense si requirements under this regime, so people can come into colorado and buy it, take it out of the

state. and i'm just not sure how they're going to react to that. >> kneneil franklin is a former state police officer and expecter director of law enforcement executive pro his. welcome. >> thanks for having me. >> this would get messy. as you heard the attorney general of colorado said the fed is more worried about people buying pot, selling it in colorado, taking it to other states where it's still illegal to smoke marijuana. this kind of puts law enforcement in the middle, doesn't it? >> well, i don't think so. i think that is the responsibility of the feds as it goes -- if it goes from state to state. but within the state, i believe it's the state's right and the rights of the people within that state to decide how they want to manage marijuana in their communities. in colorado and washington they have decided. i think it's up to the federal government to work with them to move this issue forward. right away, the president, by

the stroke of a pen, can move marijuana from a schedule one to a three or four and allow these states to do what is right for them. that's what he should do. >> let me make it clear that you are for the legalization of marry pir. >> absolutely. >> i'm just saying that has not happened yet and the president doesn't seem prone to do that. in fact, he's come down harder on medical marijuana. at least he did in his last term. so really this is putting police officers in other states into, you know, a tricky situation. >> well, i don't think so. this is no different than what we did back in the 1930s when we ended alcohol prohibition. it was the states that decided, that they wanted no parts of the federal law, prohibition for control. that's what they're doing now. look at the trend over the past couple of decades, the people have decided. the polls indicate that the people no longer want marijuana prohibited in their communities. it causes more of a problem within their communities under prohibition than what it would under regulation and control. one of the things that would

happen initially, almost immediately, is that marijuana would become less accessible for our children because there would be less points of access. right now, they can buy it on just about any corner without producing id. >> let me talk to you about that because if i'm a parent and i told my kid, hey, you cannot smoke marijuana, it's illegal, it's dangerous, it's a gateway drug. now all of a sudden in colorado it's legal and they see that and they hear it on television, how in the heck are you supposed to tell your children, oh, there are exceptions -- how do you explain that to them? >> you explain it that it's been done for their benefit because it removeses it from the hands of criminals and it puts it into regulation and control where they would have to show id. and it's up to a parent to teach their kids this. look at what we've done with tobacco use over the past couple of decades, where we've almost cut use in half and we sent no one to prison, we fired no

shots, we don't have criminal gangs managing tobacco on our streets. education, treatment, it's up to a parent to teach their kids what's good and what's bad for them. >> i think many people would probably agree with you but i'm just thinking about alcohol. it's legal. we have terrible addiction problems with alcohol in the country. who is to say we won't have oh sploe would you like to go back to the days of prohibition with alcohol and gave it back to criminals to manage within our communities where it's become poison and would be killing people and they would be making millions if not billions of dollars selling bootleg alcohol? >> i'm just saying that, you know, we try to educate people about alcohol abuse but a lot of people still abuse alcohol. >> yes. yeah, but that's just it. it is a health issue. it's not one for law enforcement. i and the thousands of members of law enforcement against prohibition and other cops, we didn't choose this job to enforce these drug laws. i chose to be a cop to protect

people from violent people. rape, murder, robbery, protecting our kids from violent criminals. that's why i became a cop. >> all right. neill franklin, thank you for speaking with us this morning. >> thank you, carol. okay. so a lot of people are actually for -- maybe not a lot, but a good majority of -- a good number of people, i should say, are for medical marijuana. what if we could reap the medical benefits of marijuana without the high? there's a new kind of marijuana being grown that might change your mind about the drug. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso. i just finished a bowl of your new light chicken pot pie soup and it's so rich and creamy... is it really 100 calories? let me put you on webcan... ...lean roasted chicken... and a creamy broth mmm i can still see you. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

sad story this morning. one of the stars from abc's "modern family" is being removed from her mother's care because of allegations of abuse. a.j. hammer follow that story from new york. we're talking about ariel winter. >> such a disturbing story, carol. we love watching 14-year-old ariel on "modern family" but

she's going through a tough time with her real mother. her mother has been accused of abusing the actress physically and emotionally to a point where a judge had to step in. a court has reportedly barred her mother, chris workman, from contacting her and has placed the 14-year-old in the custody of an older sister. workman is denying the accusations. she tells "people" magazine they are untrue and she has letters from doctors and stylists who know what's going on to back up her side of the story. we have reached out to abc and all the parties involved in this for reaction this morning. at this point no one's issuing any public statements, carol, which considering the sensitivity here probably is smart thing. obviously no matter what's going on, such a tough thing for any 14-year-old to go through. >> just terrible. let's talk about lady gaga and jerry seinfeld. they're helping people after sandy? >> it's always great to see the new yorkers stepping up and helping out the city. lady gaga just announced on twitter she is donating a million dollars to the red cross to help victims of sandy.

gaga grew up in new york of course and says this time r town and her time on the lower east side, harlem, bronx, brooklyn, made her the woman and the artist she is today. she's making a donation on behalf of her entire family. and new yorker jerry seinfeld stepping up. donating all of his income from his upcoming scheduled shows in brooklyn and on statin island to the relief efforts and added a show that's going to happen on december 19th on long island. proceeds from that show will be going to local organizations helping people here in new york. love the sein, carol. >> me, too. a.j. hammer, thanks so much. look carefully at this next image. see it there? appears to be a wrecked car. but in this case, looks can be deceiving. [ forsythe ] we don't just come up here for the view up in alaska. it's the cleanest, clearest water.

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45 minutes past the hour. time to check our top stories. nor'easter has dumped up to seven inches of snow in some of the hardest hit areas. parts of new jersey under a mandatory evacuation. nearly 700,000 people are without power. legendary university of texas football coach darrel royal dade yesterday at the age of 88. led the team to three national college football titles while coach from 56 to 76. he died after a long battle with alzheimer's disease. take a look at this wrecked car. it's actually not what it appears to be. it's actually a human sculpture. a heap of 17 nude models painted and stacked to look like a car crash. part of an ad campaign in australia awares about the dangers of speeding. it's by same artest who did the painting in that music video. the biggest issue facing americans right now is the economy. it was front and center in the

election. now that the election is over, it's time to deal with some harsh realities including the fact that taxes will go up for some americans. >> we are working to the and creating a fair, simpler, cleaner tax code. we can give our country a stronger, healthier economy. a stronger economy means more revenue, which is what the president seeks. because the american people expect us to find common ground, we're willing to accept some additional revenues via tax reform. >> so what will that mean? christine romans is our business correspondent and host of "your bottom line." so, we're two months away from the bush tax cuts expiring and that means? >> that means they're open to additional revenue via tax reform. they got to move quickly. it means you now are seeing in this first day after the election you're starting to see the different parties begin to talk. and, carol, the senate majority leader harry reid said it's more fun to dance than to fight. so it looks as though we're

beginning these discussions. look, no one wants to go off of the fiscal cliff. it is big. it is serious. but politics have stood in the way until now. it looks like they're starting to begin to figure out how to put those politics aside. we talked to austin goolsbee, used to advise the president, democratic side here, and this is what he said about the fiscal cliff. >> the biggest year of the stimulus was about a plus $275 billion. if we go off the fiscal cliff it's about a minus $650 billion in the year 2013. so it's a pretty serious issue, but it can't just be looked at on its own. as speaker boehner said, it's got to be part of a grand bargain, and hopefully there will be some room for compromise. i fear there's one more celebrity death match left in that old kind of tea party viewpoint. >> yeah, and how strong will that tea party viewpoint be and how will john boehner be able to wrangle that. this is what it means for a middle income family if we were to go off the fiscal cliff,

$2,000 in tax increases next year. i moon that would start right away. that means most people would feel it immediately. it would mean the bush tax cuts would go away. so everyone's tax rates would go up. the alternative minimum tax patch would be gone. payroll tax holiday would go away. another $1,000 a year in tax increases. that's a lot of money people would be paying extra right away out of their paychecks. it's not just that, it's the spending cuts as well that come into play here that would really ravage some indices. so everyone agrees, they don't want to go over the fiscal cliff. now comes the politics of how to figure out how to make that happy, carol. >> that's the scary part. >> i know. >> christine romans, thanks so much. medical marijuana without the high. we'll tell you where patients are using this brand new strain of cannabis.

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medical marijuana is already legal in 17 states with voters in massachusetts, approving a referendum on the issue tuesday. patients who use pot but don't want the high may find hope in a new strain of the plant. cnn's sarah reports from northern israel. >> reporter: every morning 80-year-old roth gets his medicine, stuffs it in his pipe and smokes it. he is using medical marijuana, also known as cannabis. how does the cannabis make you feel? >> good. >> reporter: he is a holocaust survivor and author and painter whose hands started shaking so much he couldn't work anymore. >> translator: my heads r hands are now steady. i can hold things like tea. >> reporter: the cannabis also makes him high because of the psycho active effects of the substance thc in the plant. for those who use medical marijuana the high they experience is the price for the

reported help it gives to cancer patients on chemotherapy or others suffering from everything from parkinson's disease to pain. rifka thought marijuana just got people high until she was prescribed a new strain of the plant and tried it. two spoon fulls a day with her other medications. she says the pain that left her wheelchair bound began to be relieved without leaving her lethargic. outstanding. i was turned into a different person. i was resurrected. i was awakened to life, she says, because the new cannabis helped her get back on her feet again. lamb, a company in israel that grows and distributing medical marijuana says the new strain it has developed has almost no thc, virtually eliminating the high. the plant produces a high consecentration of another substance called cbd. at a press tour, we met profe professor ruth. she's been studying the effects of cbd for more than a decade

and is now being paid by the company to continue her research. >> so we are -- it's not toxic. material very active, anti-inflammatory, anti-pain, and not expensive to grow. >> reporter: growers hearsay this is the most potent type of medical marijuana, or cannabis, in it traditional form. but just next to it is the wave of the future. we're talking about putting cannabis in capsules and also having it put into chewing gum so that even children can take it. cannabis is being prescribed in israel and used by children who have been licensed. medical marijuana has been legal in israel for more than a decade. it is strictly controlled. a doctor has to prescribe it. and each patient must have an individual license to use it. >> we can't be all-time narrow minded. we have to think of people suffering and how to help them without, god forbid, allowing

more use of drugs among those who don't need it. >> reporter: but critics say there's simply not enough research on marijuana of any kind for medical purposes. they say that unlike other drugs the results of testing including dosing and negative side effects are not yet clear. they hope their new version can be exported around the world one day. but 80-year-old moshe roft says he will stay with the good old-fashioned marijuana. >> interesting. fascinating. talkback question for you today. can president obama romance the republicans? your response is next.

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okay. talk back question of the morning. can president obama romance the republicans? this from emily. if obama wanted to romance, this whole campaign wouldn't have been negative. every ad from both sides are negative and pointing fingers. from kyle, shouldn't have to romance them. they refused to compromise for four years hoping to get him out of office. this from ron, has he ever romanced the republicans during his first four years? flirting is way easier than pro mansing because then actual compromising to find common ground has to take place. the people voted and made it clear who they wanted as president. now it's time to quit the whining and bickering. this from chris, the american people should get a petition tath that states the president and congress